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New Head of Pegasus School

A new Free School opening in South Gloucestershire has appointed Sara Goldhawk as Head Teacher.

Pegasus School, which is scheduled to open September 2017, will cater for boys and girls, aged 4-18 with complex communication difficulties such as Autism.

New Head Teacher Sara, from Bristol, started teaching in 1988 in Yeovil, Somerset where she taught Primary phase until 1995. The school had a high proportion of pupils with additional needs. It was this experience that led her on her career pathway to date.

In 1995, Sara became a Special Needs Coordinator (SENCO), which she continued for 11 years in three large inner city Primary schools in Lincoln and Bristol.

In 2006, Sara joined Bristol Autism Team as a Specialist Support Teacher. Her role was to support schools in their understanding of Autism and provide and model strategies to enable pupils with Autism to achieve positive outcomes. In 2009, Sara was made Team Manager/Head of Service alongside her school role, managing a team of 13 staff, which included teachers, Learning Support Assistants and family support workers. Sara was also actively involved at strategic level within Bristol City Council and was lead practitioner for Bristol's 'Social Communication & Interaction Needs' pathway.

"I am honoured to be able to be involved at the onset of the development of Pegasus school. Being involved at the onset means we have a "blank canvas" to plan a personalised curriculum in an environment where every aspect has been designed to meet the needs of pupils on the Autism spectrum.

"My aim is to be part of a team that develops a school where pupils thrive, feel safe and make friendships and connections into adulthood. We will deliver a curriculum that supports, challenges and extends pupils and which prepares pupils for adulthood. I hope to achieve a school which pupils are proud to say "I go to Pegasus school."

"South Gloucestershire and neighbouring local authorities have excellent specialist provisions and resource bases but we know demand exceeds current capacity. We know diagnosis of Autism is rising and with new housing in the area, pupil numbers are rising too. Pegasus School will work in partnership with current specialist provisions and resources bases to meet these demands, so that more pupils are able to access a personalised approach to achieve as peers in mainstream schools."